Communication - is the Key to Harmony

Like most couples, my husband Elliott and I have our “issues,” and some polar opposite ways of doing things.  One of them is hoarding vs. purging.  Even though I keep a lot of things because I love to recycle, I love to purge.  I hate clutter.  I confess there have been times when I’ve kicked myself because I’ve gone looking for something that I thought I’d kept, only to find I’d thrown it away.  But in general, I’d rather make a few mistakes like that, than become a pack rat.

Nothing gives me more satisfaction though, than finding a way to reuse something – a trait I got from my Mom who grew up in poverty in Glasgow.  She was the queen of recycling way before recycling became cool.  Admittedly there were times I hid my face, mortified when she would ask for a doggie bag or reuse an old envelope by trying to transform one name into another, but whether it was last night’s leftovers or re-covering an old sofa, she had a unique gift of making so many somethings out of nothing. 

Elliott's "Native American" Blanket

We have a lot of friends and family stay with us, so recently we reshuffled some rooms in our house to create a new guest bedroom.  Excited to decorate it, and in my usual way, wanting to use what I have, I pulled out Elliott’s old “Native American” blanket that he bought when he set out as an 18 year old to furnish his first dorm room - Elliott is now an “established” fifty something (and a fabulous looking one at that), so you can do the math.  I had tried to hide this blanket (unsuccessfully) from being taken out from under the piles of other blankets in our linen closet, because it doesn’t exactly “fit” into my personal aesthetic, and it certainly had not become some fabulous 70’s vintage find.

I’ve had all this lovely fabric samples from the “Quilting Bee” line I designed for Henry Glass beckoning me to use it for the longest time, so I decided I was going to re-cover Elliott’s blanket with them, along with some old white sheets that we no longer use. Excited to get started and forgetting about one of the keys to our lovely marriage - communication - I was happily at work upstairs in my studio when Elliott came to see what I was up to.  On seeing my new creation in progress he got quite sad watching his blanket disappear under the new fabrics that would cover it forever.  He instantly told me he didn’t want me to continue using it, which of course made me angry.  But like we always do, we sat down to talk, and in the course of our discussion, he realized it was hard for him to let go of something that had been with him for so long.  My anger dissipated and I understood, and was willing to find something else to use. In the end though, just recognizing the feeling was enough and he wanted me to continue with my project, as he loved what I was making.  More than that though, I know how much Elliott loves me and he is always my biggest champion regarding my creativity, so I believe he made the sacrifice purely to make me happy.

The result of all this is that we now have this beautiful double-sided blanket (and curtains) made with the two color ways from my Henry Glass fabrics.  And even though Elliott may not see his blanket, he knows it’s still there warming all the visitors that we so love welcoming into our home.  If he gets homesick for his old blanket, he can always click on this blog and look at these pictures, and Elliott honey, thank you for your continued support of my creativity and for all the wee compromises you make that may not be as simple as they appear.

Red Side Up

Red Trim Curtains with Burlap

Blue Side Up

Blue Trim Curtains with Burlap